James Cameron recently spoke with website Play Goes Strong to give Avatar fans an update on the upcoming sequel to the blockbuster franchise. The creator, writer and director of Avatar revealed that he is currently on a farm in New Zealand working on the scripts for Avatar 2 and 3.
Cameron spoke on writing the scripts to the upcoming films and claim Peter Jackson had is easier with Lord of the Rings.
“I was talking the other day with Peter Jackson and said, ‘You had it easy dude. You had the books when you did the second and third ‘Lord of the Rings,'” Cameron told Jackson. “I have to create my own books in my head and extract a script from it.”
The key to Cameron’s writing process is isolation, getting away from life’s troubles to purely focus on the world of Pandora.
“I’m deep into it and I’m living in Pandora right now,” Cameron spoke of his writing process. “As a writer, I need isolation…When you live in a special world like Pandora, you have to live in that world.”
When Avatar was released in 2009 it broke all previous box office records, surpassing Cameron’s own Titanic which previously held the #1 spot. The science-fiction film would gross over $2.7 billion at the box office.
Now Cameron has to follow up on the success of possibly the largest film in cinematic history. Is he feeling the pressure?
“Pressure, no. It’s a little daunting because sequels are always tricky. You have to be surprising and stay ahead of audience anticipation. At the same time, you have to massage their feet with things that they know and love about the first film. I’ve walked that line in the past, so I’m not too worried about it. At the same time, I definitely have to deliver the goods.”
At the moment there is no official release for the upcoming Avatar sequels. Since Cameron plans on filming Avatar 2 & 3 at the same time, scripts to both films have to be completed before production can begin. He is currently striving for a 2015 release.
